Cross-sectoral Bodies (Hansard, 21 December 2000)

§ Mr. Straw

The information requested is not held centrally. In delivering its Aims, the Home Office works in partnership with a wide range of organisations, both formally and informally. At local level, the Home Office is working with the Regional Co-ordination Unit to ensure effective delivery of Home Office services, including through local partnerships.

Some examples of partnerships and cross-sectoral bodies include the 376 crime and disorder partnerships in England and Wales, youth offending teams (YOTs), the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB), vehicle crime reduction action team (VCRAT), drug action teams, black and minority ethnic twinning volunteering partnerships and prison healthcare delivery.

Crime and disorder partnerships are led by the police and local authorities, but also involve others such as health, education, private and voluntary sectors. They are required to formulate and implement a crime and disorder strategy for their area and are able to bid for funding for particular crime reduction projects from the crime reduction programme.

Youth offending teams are a local partnership between police, probation officers, social workers, health and education staff. They are responsible for delivering community based intervention programmes to make young offenders face up to their crimes and change their attitudes and behaviour and to promote youth inclusion. YOTs are resourced through contributions from the agencies involved.

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is a cross-sectoral, non-departmental public body. It was established in September 1998 with the Juvenile Offenders Unit as the Home Office, Sponsor Unit. The YJB receives funding from the Home Office through monthly grant-in-aid payments.

Another example of a cross-sectoral partnership is the VCRAT. This comprises of senior representatives from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the Retail Motor Industry Federation, the Association of British Insurers, the Automobile Association, the Association of Chief Police Officers (including Scotland), Police Superintendents Association, Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Home Office and the Scottish Executive. VCRAT is working to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent. over five years (1 April 1999–30 March 2004) and advising on progress with implementation in the light of recorded vehicle crime figures as they are published. VCRAT itself does not have access to funds, but funding is available from the Crime Reduction Programme to support its work.

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Drug Action Teams (DATs) are locally organised teams with representatives from police, probation, local authority services and health. They are responsible locally for delivery of the Government's drugs strategy. Each of the local agencies in the DAT are funded individually. Additionally, DATs receive funding through the Drugs Prevention Advisory Service, to assist in the co-ordination of their work.

Black and Minority Ethnic Twinning Volunteering Partnerships aim to raise national awareness of good volunteering practice in black and minority ethnic communities; to improve opportunities for black and minority ethnic volunteers and increase their involvement in mainstream voluntary organisations; and to provide access to funding. £800,000 from the Home Office Community Support Grant has been provided to fund the initiative over the period 1999–2002.

The Prison Service, working with the National Health Service (NHS), supports a partnership to reform and deliver more appropriate health services to prisoners. This involves prison governors and health authorities identifying the health needs of prisoners and developing local joint prison health plans. The process is led from the centre by two joint Prison Service/NHS units—a policy unit and a task force—located within the Department of Health.